She Made My Heart Stop, Literally
by DewyPeach
Summary: It isn't easy being a vampire in Italy. Staying away from crosses? Impossible. Keeping out of the sunlight? What a joke. Giving up mirrors?A tragedy... But the worst part of Chiara's vampire experience was no doubt being stuck with a maddeningly hot and annoying Spanish lady, whose idea of romance ranged from handmade garlic-free pizza to intimate couple strolls in cemeteries.


**Chapter 1: One Night Stand, Million Nights Gained**

Chiara hated how her hair looked in the morning. It could be best described as an unflattering brown birdnest that made her look like a witch living in a swamp. And it was especially bad after she got drunk and hooked up with a stranger. So when she woke up one Saturday morning with very blurry memories of the previous night and red lipstick marks all over her skin, she dreaded the sight that would greet her from the mirror.

And indeed, when she sleepily crept into the bathroom, head pounding with the familiar pain of a hangover, and looked at her reflection… she screamed with horror.

But not for the reason she would have expected.

Chiara shut her eyes tightly and rubbed them, then reopened them. And screamed again.

Her hair didn't look terrible. It didn't look nice, either. In fact, she couldn't see it at all. Or any other part of her reflection.

The shiny surface of the mirror was completely empty, and where her image should have been reflected she saw only the ugly floral shower curtains that hung behind her.

Chiara fled the bathroom and ran to the kitchen, where she filled herself a glass of water from the sink. She just didn't wake up yet, she told herself. She was still half-dreaming and imagining things. And damn, was she thirsty. She gulped down the water, carelessly spilling some over her yellow pajama t-shirt, then filled another glass and drank it quickly as well. She still felt thirsty. She felt even _more_ thirsty than before, actually.

Fucking hangover.

Chiara shook her head and reached for the window, pushing open the shutters to let in some blessed sunlight.

It burned her like the heat of a thousand fires.

She yelped, raising an arm to shield her blinded eyes, then stumbled backwards into the darkness. When she was in the shade again, she breathed out with relief and let her arm drop to her side. Colorful shapes danced in her vision when she opened her eyes again.

Her skin was as red as a lobster shell, and she could still feel the burning sensation, though it was beginning to fade.

What the hell? It looked perfectly normal when she woke up. Apart from the lipstick marks and several blue bruises, of course, but that was nothing unusual.

A deep, unpleasant suspicion began rising in her. Was there a reason that she didn't remember much of last night? Had she finally gone too far with the drinking? Or even worse, did the red lipstick woman, whoever she was, put something in her drink? Was she still experiencing the effects?

Chiara checked the mirror again. There was still no reflection, just the empty bathroom. She tried her small hand-mirror, but she couldn't see herself in that either.

Well, now this was getting scary. She furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to remember the previous night's events. She had gone out to a bar with her sister… They started chatting with a group of tourists… Her sister left with a tall, blond and muscular young man, and left Chiara to flirt with a charismatic and sexy girl from… Spain? They were pretty much drunk already, and started making out in the bar, then proceeded to Chiara's apartment-

Then what? Chiara couldn't remember. Everything was so goddamn blurry, like a weird dream, and her head still pounded, and there was still this awful thirst, like her throat had been scratched with sandpaper.

She walked back to the kitchen, but the window was still open and even looking at it from a safe distance made her eyes water. So she drank from the sink in the bathroom - which didn't help at all. More details from the night were returning to her. She vaguely remembered making out on the sofa, then on the bed. There was something about tearing her dress strap in her hurry to get it off… Pity, it was a nice dress…

Why was there so much red in her mind? A tight red dress, accentuating the lady's curves; red lips kissing and sliding down Chiara's stomach; red bite marks, blood on the sheets…

Wait, WHAT?

Out of a years-old instinct, Chiara checked her underwear first. She wasn't on her period. It wasn't that.

She rushed to her bedroom and threw the blankets off the bed. There it was, as clear as daylight - a huge, dark reddish-brown stain. She panicked. Where did that come from? Fucking hell, what could have caused such a stain?

Her heart skipped a beat. Almost overwhelmed by a sudden wave of icy dread, she raised her hand to her neck. She felt at it for a few long moments and started cursing herself for her stupidity, then her fingers touched a pair of scabs, the shape of tiny holes.

* * *

The Spanish lady had apparently left a note with her number on the bedstand, which was good, because Chiara needed some fucking answers. Immediately.

" _Good morning!"_ The voice on the phone was infuriatingly cheerful.

"It's Chiara," Chiara said, voice raspy. "From last night."

" _Oh!"_ the woman on the phone sounded even happier now, which made Chiara wish they were in the same room so she could strangle her. " _I didn't imagine you'd really call! I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed-"_

"WHAT THE HELL," Chiara yelled, cutting off the fast, melodic stream of words, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?"

The line fell silent. Then the lady spoke again, sounding worried. " _What do you mean?"_

"I'm feeling terrible," Chiara shouted, "there's a huge fucking bloodstain on my bed, and I'm seeing things! Did you fucking drug me?"

" _Seeing things?"_ Pause. " _What things?"_

"Well one thing I certainly _can't_ see is my reflection! And the fucking sunlight burns like hell! I swear to g-" Chiara choked. "To g- g- ghhh…" She started coughing uncontrollably and held the phone away from her face. "And I have g- g- motherfucking bite marks on my neck! Are you some weird creepy pervert with-"

" _What's your address?"_ the woman asked. " _I'm coming over, don't go anywhere."_

"WHY WOULD I GIVE YOU MY FUCKING ADDRESS?"

" _Because I can help-"_

"YEAH, I ALREADY KNOW WHAT 'HELP' YOU MEAN!"

" _Hey, easy. Look, you're going through something bad, and I know what to do."_ The woman was speaking with a gentle, soothing tone. " _I'm sorry for what happened, it was… a mistake, to be honest. I don't completely understand how it happened myself, but I know what to do."_

"What are you talking about?" Chiara pressed her aching forehead against the cold surface of the vacant mirror. "Can't you just tell me over the phone?"

" _...Not really."_

Chiara breathed out slowly. Well, could it really make things worse? Probably, but… despite not wanting to admit it, she was pretty much lost. "Alright," she said, "are you writing it down?"

* * *

The woman arrived about twenty minutes later. Chiara was lying on her stomach, feeling worse than ever. When the knock on the door came, she barely scraped herself off the sofa and got up to open.

"Good morning," the lady said, smiling nervously. She was dressed casually and wore a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. She held out a hand for a handshake. "My name's Carmen. In case you… forgot. How are you today?"

"I did forget, nice to meet you. And I'm feeling as horrible, as can be expected," Chiara replied, pulling on her best passive-aggressive, cold smile, and ignoring the held-out hand. Her head was spinning from the effort of standing.

"Ah, I'm sorry, that was such a stupid question," Carmen shifted from foot to foot and ran a hand through her thick brown curls. Chiara found wicked satisfaction in watching her squirm. "I'm really sorry about all this mess…"

"Whatever," Chiara said impatiently. "What did you want to tell me? I don't have all day…" In fact, she probably didn't have even another minute, since her knees were starting to shake and she found it harder and harder to remain standing.

"Of course…" Carmen rummaged through her tote bag and pulled out a sealed plastic cup. She stuck a straw in it and held it out. "Have this first, it'll make you feel better."

Chiara frowned. "The hell is that?"

"It's a herbal shake I made, really helps with bad hangovers. Trust me, I've been there too."

"Are you kidding me?" Chiara folded her arms. "There's NO way I'm gonna drink that. What if you're just here to drug me again?"

"I didn't-" Carmen sighed and took a long sip from the straw. "See? There's nothing wrong with it." She proffered the cup again. "Here, try to smell it."

Chiara took it, brought it near her nose and sniffed suspiciously. Her worries were wiped away in an instant. The smell was rich, warm and slightly salty, and somehow felt refreshing and spicy at once. It smelled like a friendly drink, one that would cuddle you and sing you to sleep, and would always be there for you. It smelled like being a bird and soaring through the air, it smelled like a group of dark-eyed ladies in bikinis dancing very sexually. It smelled like life itself, and before Chiara noticed she had already finished half of the drink. "Damn, this is great, what's in it?"

"Blood," Carmen said lightly.

Chiara spat, spraying red drops. She dropped the cup, and the lid fell open, spilling the thick liquid all over the doorfmat. "W-what the hell? What the what? WHAT THE FLYING FUCK, YOU CRAZY WOMAN-"

"I see you're already feeling better," Carmen beamed.

Chiara opened her mouth to object heatedly, then noticed that the creepy woman was actually right. She felt strong, her head felt fine, and the terrible thirst was gone. That was even more frightening. "That…" she said faintly, gesturing at the spilled blood. "Is that… human...?"

"...Yeah."

Chiara gripped the doorframe, feeling again like she was about to faint.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone for it," Carmen added quickly. "I have access to blood donations, it's very civilised."

"But..." Chiara found herself somewhat at a loss for words. "What… Why did I-"

"I know, I know," Carmen said sympathetically, drawing closer and patting her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But you gotta survive, right?"

Chiara leaned against the doorframe, rubbing her face with her palms, the pieces finally falling together. "Did you turn me into a fucking vampire?"

"I'm afraid so. Really sorry. I should've been more careful, wasn't thinking straight, you know…"

Despite herself, Chiara let out a sob. This was just a crazy, fucked up dream. Right? It had to be. Stuff like this didn't happen in real life. _Grandma was right, I'm never sleeping with strangers again,_ she thought.

Carmen, in the meantime, wrapped her arm around Chiara's shoulders. "You look really pale," she noted with worry. "Let's get you seated down." Then, after a pause, she added: "can you please invite me in? It's, uhh, one of the side effects."

"Please, make yourself at home," Chiara said absently, sniffing. "Is it possible to abort being a vampire?"

"I'm afraid it's permanent," Carmen winced, leading the way to the sofa.

"I can't believe it. I can't fucking believe it. You literally bit me in the neck without permission. It's like the supernatural version of a surprise pregnancy or something."

"It was an honest mistake," Carmen said, helping her sit down. "I was… I was just trying to give you a hickey. I kinda forgot about those," she opened her mouth and pointed at her little pointy fangs.

"What kind of stupid vampire are you?" Chiara lay down and curled into a ball, hair falling over her face like a curtain.

"I was really, really drunk..." Carmen awkwardly stroked Chiara's hair, but Chiara batted her hand away. "Listen, I'm feeling super bad about this. I'm going to stay here and help you with this, alright? You're not alone… It's gonna be fine, alright?" she smiled encouragingly.

"What if I don't want you around?" Chiara huffed. "I don't even know you, Miss Corpse-fucker."

"Then… I'll leave," Carmen sounded reluctant. "But I really think you could use someone to teach you all the necessary things. Also, where would you get blood without me?"

Chiara held out a demanding hand and wiggled her fingers. "Give me more of that stuff."

Carmen placed another cup in Chiara's hand and closed her fingers around it. Chiara sat up, sipping silently.

Carmen sat down next to her. "I'm so sorry," she said again. "Seriously, you have no idea how sorry I am. I feel so stupid."

"Stop fucking apologising," Chiara told her. "It wasn't really your fault."

"Yes, it was," Carmen said. Strangely, she sounded like she was about to start crying. That made Chiara very uncomfortable. "You couldn't have known, but me, I should've held back…"

"Whatever," Chiara cut her off, "just stop apologising. I'm not angry at you." She _was_ angry in fact, but it felt like the right thing to say. She continued drinking, thoughtful. "Tell me more about this whole vampiring business. Like, how am I supposed to style my hair if I can't see my reflection?"

"That's what bothers you most?"

"That's what comes to mind." Chiara frowned.

"Well," Carmen chuckled, "you won't really have to worry about your hair anymore."

"What?"

Carmen pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and opened the camera. She switched to selfie mode and turned the screen towards Chiara. "Look."

Chiara did so. And gasped. Her hair looked great, naturally smooth and silky, with no knots. In addition to that, all the annoying little pimples had disappeared from her face. "Hey, awesome," she said, grinning at the image. "So I'm gonna look gorgeous from now on no matter what I do?"

"I think you were gorgeous as a human, too," Carmen winked at her, "but yeah, the change does enhance your natural beauty. It's so you'll have it easier… hunting prey, you know."

Chiara shuddered. "Do you eat people?"

"No, not anymore," Carmen shook her head quickly. "I used to, but nowadays I only do it if there's someone I really dislike."

Fucking hell. Scary. "Used to?" Chiara asked. "How old are you?"

"You sure you wanna know?"

"Yes."

"A hundred seventy-two."

"Oh my G-" Chiara choked. She made an obscene gesture. "Screw you, I feel like my lexicon of swear words has been significantly reduced."

"Be like me," Carmen batted her eyelashes innocently. "Just don't swear, ever. And you know, I'm pretty young in vampire standards."

"Wonderful."

"Age is only a number, sweetie. Love is love."

Chiara glared at her. "Aren't you ashamed?"

"Of what?"

"Nevermind." Chiara rolled her eyes. She finished the cup of blood and placed it on the table, feeling somewhat revived. "So, wait. How is it that I couldn't see myself in the mirror, but your phone camera worked just fine?"

"That's a funny thing, actually." Carmen crossed her legs and settled more comfortably in her place. "Mirror glasses used to be coated with silver, you know. And silver and vampires don't get along, so we couldn't see our reflections with them. Nowadays they're no longer made with silver, but we still don't appear in them. And... I've no idea why. It doesn't really make sense. Most of the 'vampire stuff' doesn't make any sense. Like, garlic? Why is that?"

"Wait, what did you say? no garlic?" Chiara's face fell. "NO GARLIC? FOREVER?"

"Ah, right, I forgot that you're Italian…"

"I can't live with this!" Chiara pressed a hand to her chest, only to notice that she had no heartbeat, which was _super_ disturbing.

"I heard that there's a nice support group in the Rome coven. They have garlic-free cooking classes and stuff. You should check it out."

"The Rome what? You mean there's _more_ vampires in this city?"

"About twenty-five, I think? Not as much as in other large cities, because all this holiness can make us sick easily."

"So you're saying I better move somewhere else?" Chiara asked gloomily. "Wait, how do you even know about the other vampires?"

"Fangbook."

"What?"

"That's the vampire Facebook. We're very modern, you know. We keep up with the times." Carmen twirled a lock of her hair around a perfectly manicured finger. "It's good to have an online community like this, so we can help each other out in times of need. You should create an account too, I'll add you."

"Uhh... sure," Chiara scratched her chin. "Is there also, like, vampire Tumblr? Vampire porn sites? vampire Tinder?"

"Tumblr is full of weirdos anyway, nobody would notice some vampires in it. Pretty sure about the porn sites, and yeah, there is a vampire dating app. It's called OkEdward. It's pretty useful for those who want long-term relationships, considering that we live forever and all."

Chiara started to nod. "Makes se- WHAT?" she jumped out of her seat. "WE LIVE FOREVER?!"

"Of course," Carmen looked up at her in astonishment. "You didn't know? That's like, the whole point. That's why so many people _want_ to become vampires."

"Wow," Chiara said. She held her head with her hands and began pacing back and forth. "Wow. Wow, wow. Wow. WOW."

Carmen watched her with an expression somewhere between perplexed and amused.

"Wow. wow. WOW," Chiara said again. "That's pretty hard to swallow. I don't know what to think."

"I get you," Carmen said slowly. "Immortality has its good an bad sides."

"BAD SIDES?"

"Yeah. It's super lonely sometimes."

Chiara waved her hand dismissively. "Don't really give a shit about that." She made a few gleeful skipping steps. "Is it possible to kill vampires?"

"Yeah. It's hard, but possible."

"So, like, I could jump out of the window now and live?"

"Fifth floor, right?" Carmen thought for a moment. "You might twist an ankle or something, but it would heal in a few hours. Don't try it though," she warned, "people would notice."

"Damn, nice." Chiara flopped back down on the sofa. "So what now?"

"Well, we could for example contact the Rome coven. They can help you go on with your life and get used to being a vampire."

"But it's the holidays. Isn't there a more exciting option?"

"Hmm… Well, Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe Rome isn't a very good place for a newbie."

Chiara looked at her. "So we go somewhere else?"

"We?" Carmen sounded very happy about being included.

"Yeah," Chiara nodded. "You got me into this, you have to stick with me now. You said it yourself earlier."

"I thought you didn't want me around?"

Chiara sighed. "I kinda need you… I'd be pretty lost without your help."

Carmen smiled widely. "That's sweet-"

Chiara's phone lit up suddenly and began ringing, and they both glanced at it. Chiara reached for it and picked up the call. It was her sister, Felicia.

" _You won't believe it, Chiara,"_ Felicia sounded even more excited than usual. " _Remember Ludwig? From last night? He's just so, so perfect! I think it's love at first sight! We understand each other so deeply, I really feel like I finally found my soulmate! He's just so handsome, and funny, and smart - and did I already mention how handsome he is? He is truly so very handsome!"_

Chiara rolled her eyes. "She says that every time", she mouthed silently at Carmen, who was silently giggling, then said to the phone: "That's great, Feli."

" _Yeah, it's perfect! I feel like we were really meant to be! He wants me to meet his family, so we'll be going over to Germany tomorrow!"_

Chiara's jaw dropped. Her sister had officially gone crazy. "Wait the fuck up, you only met him yesterday! Don't you think it's a bit too soon for that? You don't know anything about him!"

" _I know that I love him! And he loves me!"_

Chiara stared incredulously at the phone. Carmen laughed. "I actually know someone in Germany." She raised a suggestive eyebrow. "He's an old friend of mine, and it's been a while since I visited him. And he's got lots of experience with… you know."

"What are you proposing?" Chiara asked her.

"Maybe we can join them? That way you can also… watch over her?"

Chiara considered. "Hey, Feli? Do you mind if we join you?"

" _We?"_ her sister asked _. "Oh, the girl from last night? That's wonderful, Chiara! I'm so happy for you! Oh my god, yeah! A double date to Germany sounds like so much fun!"_

"Hey, Felicia!" Carmen said, loud enough to be heard on the other side of the line. "Maybe we can stay at my friend's place? He owns a castle in the mountains, it's a very beautiful place. And he throws great parties!"

" _That sounds great! Doesn't that sound nice, Ludwig?"_ Pause. " _He says it can be nice! Let's do it! We'll meet you at the train station then, tomorrow!"_ Felicia squealed. " _Bye-bye!"_

The line cut off.

Chiara and Carmen exchanged glances, and Carmen started laughing again.

Chiara cleared her throat, feeling irritated. "So… Spooky ass vampire castle in the mountains, eh? How fucking romantic."


End file.
